


222 - Finding a Lost Kid with Van

by storiesaboutvan



Category: Catfish and the Bottlemen (Band)
Genre: Cute meet, F/M, Hero Van, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-08 17:53:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17390942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesaboutvan/pseuds/storiesaboutvan
Summary: Filling the prompt “the girl and Van don’t know each other, and both find a kid that’s lost, and then them helps him/her.”





	222 - Finding a Lost Kid with Van

You were sitting against a tree in the park reading, killing time until you could go home and not ruin your housemate's weird brunch date. He was cooking a three course breakfast for a guy he met in the emergency room when he was there with a girl from work that had nearly chopped her entire finger off, or something. It was a convoluted story that he told in order to justify why he was kicking you out the apartment on a Sunday morning. You had hushed him and told him it was fine, but against the tree trunk your back was beginning to ache and you were already bored.

You looked around the park. There was a family over near the pond, feeding ducks and having a good time. Two mothers were sitting in fluorescent activewear by the play equipment, watching their children push each other around with a suburban middle-aged disinterest. There was a small pop-up coffee stall near the path. You hadn't seen the guy sell a cup yet, but as joggers ran past they stopped for bottles of overpriced water. Every single one of them used their smartphone to pay, tapping it against the machine. You pretended the technology didn't both scare and impress you.

Almost ready to commit to the next chapter of your book, you noticed a small girl standing alone a few trees over. She had white and blue stripy tights on and her black gumboots were all muddy, despite the lack of rain. She wore a green dress and a red hoodie. Everything about her outfit was mismatched, which indicated she probably had the luxury of being trusted to pick her own clothes. Maybe four-years-old, she was certainly not old enough to be alone in a park. You were about to get up and see if she needed help when an adult appeared and knelt down in front of her. Relieved, you turned your attention back to your book.

"Sorry, excuse me, but, uh, you 'aven't seen this one's mum, have you?"

You looked up at the adult that you assumed knew the girl. If he was an adult, then you were too, but despite not being a teenager anymore, you knew that was not the case. Not at all equipped to deal with a lost child, you were glad the responsibility fell on him and not you. The little girl was holding his hand tight and looked scared.

"Can't find my mummy," she whispered.

As soon as her little voice broke and she tried her best to remain calm and you reacted with empathy, the responsibility was yours too. Standing up and putting your book in your bag, you faced the guy.

"Sorry, no. I just spotted her when you went up to her. Thought you knew her,"

"No. Just walking through… Isn't a customer service desk in a park like there is in shops. Not sure where to take her," he said, trying to keep his voice quiet so the girl wouldn't hear how lost he sounded too. You nodded at him and crouched back to the ground.

"What's your name, honey?" you asked her.

"Tulip,"

"Like the flower?" She nodded and you glanced up at the guy. He shrugged. "Okay. Well, it's nice to meet you, Tulip. I'm Y/N. This is…"

"Van,"

"Van. That's Van. We're gonna help you find your mummy, okay?"

She nodded, then you stood. She held her free hand up in the air and made strange little sounds of emphasis. Like he could read her mind, Van swooped and picked her up, putting her on his hip.

You asked her any logical questions you could think of. Did she know her mother's number? No. Was she playing in the park with her mum? Yes. Did she remember where? No. Was it near the pond? She didn't know. Any useful information was not going to be accessed with your questions as cues.

"I guess we just ask around for a bit?" you asked Van. He shrugged again.

The mothers in activewear didn't recognise the girl. You half expected them to take over your job, some sort of motherly sisterhood kicking into action. It didn't happen and you tallied up another strike against the idea that gender is biological. The coffee seller didn't know anything, and after lapping the pond and returning to where you'd found Tulip, there was no mother in sight.

It dawned on you then that perhaps she was purposefully left there. Maybe you'd misread her outfit as happy freedom of choice, rather than no choice at all. Maybe they were all her little hands could pull out from under piles of clothes. Maybe they were the only clean things in her house. Although clearly worried, Tulip was far calmer than you would have expected a lost child to be. Was she used to being alone? Why was she unafraid of strangers?

Van had stayed quiet for most of the hunt for Tulip's mother. He held the child close and reassured her with little whispers of, "It's gonna be alright," and "We'll find her," whenever she started to become unsettled. Back at the starting point, he looked at you with the same dark expression plastered on your face. You didn't need to converse about the thoughts in your heads.

"Tulip, honey, have you ever been lost before?"

"No,"

"Has your mummy ever told you what to do if you get lost?"

"No,"

"And was today a good day before this? Everything was good and normal?"

She nodded and looked around.

"Down?" she asked, and gently Van put her on the grass. She stomped over to a nearby tree and sat at its base, picking at the grass and weeds. Van looked back over at you.

"You think she's been left here," he said.

"Do you?"

"I don't know… park ain't that big… I'm kinda… freaking out, you know? Should we just take her to the cops or somethin'?"

Watching Tulip calmly dig through the dirt with her bare hands, you felt the same uneasiness as Van.

"I guess, yeah."

You stood side by side watching her for a minute more.

When you were younger you used to daydream about meeting guys as beautiful as Van. All the different scenarios cycled through your head and sustained you during the loneliness of your teenage years. As you grew older, the dreams began to fade, but your imaginary world of romance was still a huge part of your personality. You remembered then, while standing next to Van, one of the stories vividly.

You had made it up while following your mum around while she did the grocery shopping. There had been a lost child in the supermarket. He stood in the aisle for only a few seconds before his father came running down it and picking him up, but it was enough of a prompt to make you think. How cute would it be to find a missing child with a pretty boy? You'd be all giggly and clever, he'd be awkward and sweet. Heroes, united by love. But in the park, it was nothing like that.

A lost child was a sad thing, and with each passing second, it became worse and worse. You felt heavy and guilty and a worried and a bit sick.

"Okay…" you said as you got your phone out and searched for the closest police station. Mapping it out, you took one of Tulip's hands and Van took her other. You began to walk down the path and out of the park.

Just before you got to the gate up ahead, you could see the flashing lights. Closer and closer, there were the cries of a woman. Around the corner and onto the street, Tulip ripped her hands away and bolted.

"Mummy!" she yelled and bounced into the arms of the woman who was sitting on the edge of the backseat of a police car, the door open and two cops standing on the sidewalk taking notes.

"Tulip!"

You wanted to pass out from happiness and relief and somehow, after only a short time, exhaustion. Van sidestepped to be next to you as you both walked over. Van explained to them what had happened, and Tulip's mother cried thank yous and hugged you so tight you felt panicked and claustrophobic. It was understandable though. As the police drove away and Tulip and her mother walked down the street, her little hand waving goodbye, you turned and faced Van.

"That was not fucking fun," you said, rubbing your forehead and breathing out.

"Yeah. Didn't like it either," he replied.

"Do you reckon it says anything about us that we thought the worst so quickly?"

"Nah," he said with a smile. "Think it just means we're good, you know? Looking out for a kid, like anyone would,"

"Not everyone," you replied, thinking about activewear mum club and their vacant expressions. "Anyway… ah… What were you doing in the park so early?" It was not at all what you had planned to say. The sentence was 'Anyway, I'll catch you around,' or something. Instead, what you said popped into your consciousness and came straight out your mouth without so much as a second thought.

"Ran out of milk. Live just across the park. I cut through it to get to the deli," he said. "It is way too fucking early though,"

"It's like… eleven now?"

"What? I swear it was six when I left,"

"Not unless you got lost too,"

"Honestly, wouldn't be surprised. Lose my head if it weren't screwed on, mum says," Van said, grinning. His mood was easily lightened with the removal of the stress. You'd be unsettled for a little longer though. "What about you? Why you sitting on the grass when it's so cold out?"

"My housemate needed the place to himself. Should have just gone to a café, but I'm trying to save money. Park seemed like a nice thing to do in theory. Nature and shit, you know?"

Van laughed. "Yeah, but ain't anything you can't see on Google,"

"I guess…" you replied, not sure that it was not the best logic to approach life with.

"So you going home now or do ya need to kill some time? 'Cause I'm on a roll with helping out the lost, see. You're welcome to come have a cup of tea and smoke with me and Larry and Mary if ya want,"

"Who are Larry and Mary?"

"Best mate and dog," he replied. Unsure which was which, but the mention of a doggo peaked your interest. Van saw it in your face. "She's so cute too. All fluffy and cuddly. You'll love her. Come on. Just gotta get the milk," he said, pointing across the road to the deli. You nodded and followed him to the store and back through the park. 

He lived a couple of streets over in a cottage. The warmth of his house hit you immediately, and your bones seemed to settle back into themselves. He took your jacket and hung it by the door, and you left your bag there.

"Larry?!" he yelled through the house.

"Kitchen!" a voice replied.

A brown, pointy-eared little thing came scurrying into the room. It yapped at Van before quickly figuring out a stranger was in its midst. You dropped to your knees and immediately started to pat it.

"Y/N, Mary. Mary, Y/N. Come on, bring her into the kitchen," Van said and it wasn’t clear if he meant for her to bring you, or you to bring her. Picking Mary up and carrying her like a baby, you walked into a kitchen. "Take a seat."

Van introduced you to Larry with the same amount of explanation as he gave Mary. Larry didn't seem overly shocked that Van had returned from his quick trip to get milk much overdue and with a human too. Two cups of tea and a few cigarettes later, you followed them into their loungeroom. They sat on the floor close to the television and started a game of Fifa. Van looked over his shoulder at you, watching you read a text message from your housemate saying you could come home whenever.

"Sorry, Y/N. Do you want a turn?" he asked. You laughed and shook your head. "You still seem a bit tired, yeah?"

"Yeah." And you went to thank them for the tea and say goodbye, but Van had paused the game and ran from the room. He quickly returned with a blanket and a pillow.

"Kick ya shoes off and have a nap. I can drive you home later when ya housemate's done with their thing or whatever," he said. You smiled at his kindness and warmth. You nodded and followed his instructions. He tucked you in with a cute amount of effort and drama and kissed your forehead. "Good?"

"Good."

He returned to Larry and they started the game again. You watched for about five minutes before slowly starting to fall asleep. Maybe he was the boy from your teenage daydreams and maybe it was the start of your cute meet story after all.


End file.
